


taken by surprise

by jayeinacross



Category: James Bond (Movies), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-02
Updated: 2012-12-02
Packaged: 2017-11-20 01:26:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayeinacross/pseuds/jayeinacross
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They ignore everything that leaps and sparks in the air between them until they can't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	taken by surprise

His days of being a soldier are long gone, but Mallory will never forget what combat was like, and he can't help thinking that even now, he's still locked in it. Politics in the government is just another battlefield, committees another obstacle to fight past. This is how the world has changed, and Mallory has just survived to adapt in a world where learning how to navigate a room full of bureaucrats is just another part of warfare. He wears his suit like a shield, perfect and pressed, because appearance is just another requirement. It's smiles and charm and manipulation, and never letting one's guard down.

He meets Q, and the boy can't tell a lie to save his life. He wears cardigans and doesn't look like he owns a comb and seems almost naive sometimes, a little distractable, but once Mallory looks a little closer, there's more -- confidence that is well deserved, focus and determination, a sly deviousness that lies beneath the surface. The contrasts in him are fascinating, the way that Q can look so young and innocent, then crash a safeguarded system in seconds, and it makes Mallory want to keep watching.

 

* * *

 

When Q first meets Mallory, he only sees the suit and tie at first, tailored and perfect. Everyone's a little wary of him at first; trust and loyalty are hard things to secure here, and M will always be an unreplaceable woman. Even Q is a little worried in the beginning, despite having seen just how competent Mallory is. The only suits that Q has are ones that don't fit quite right, that he wears with a parka or a scarf that doesn't match. But he works so well at MI6, oddly but well, and he needs Mallory to understand that even if his clothes don't fit quite right, Q does.

But Mallory is intrigued by Q and the way he works, instead of cynical. Where almost everyone before has been disdainful towards him, and sceptical of his competence because of his age, Mallory only seems impressed at his proficiency, and a little curious. He never minds that Q is always rumpled, or that the entire Q branch basically runs on caffeine, and he's down in their department more often than is strictly necessary.

At first Q thinks that he just wants to keep an eye on them because he's new to the job, or possibly because he enjoys making the graduates squirm, but the visits last long past when everyone is comfortable with Mallory. It's not so hard to start thinking of him as M -- he'll never be the same as the old M, but that's not what they need. He seems genuinely interested in their work, and Q learns to relax around him. Q's smart, and he notices the looks that Mallory keeps sending his way, he's just not sure what to do with them and what really they mean, and he can't help but think that Mallory's not even sure himself.

 

* * *

 

Eve has always been good at reading people, and she doesn't miss a thing. She certainly doesn't miss the way that Q and M look at each other, or the way that they have absolutely no idea what to do about any of it.

Bond comes into the office just as Q is leaving from showing M a new prototype with a stupidly pleased look on his face. Behind Q's back, he shoots Eve a look that would be questioning on most people, but on Bond, it's just full of implications. Eve just shakes her head and shrugs, then shoos him into M's office.

 

* * *

 

Q's hands and fingers are so precise when they're tapping on computer keys or fine-tuning the mechanisms of whatever gadget Bond is going to bring back broken again. Q knows how a gun works, he knows every detail of the makeup and creation and breakdown of a gun, but holding one in his hands like this is different. He's not terrible, but he could be better. He should be better. Q might not go out in the field very often, but he should still be prepared, but he doesn't want to ask Eve or Bond to help him.

The thought of M helping him never even crosses his mind, but somehow it happens anyway. M finds him alone in the shooting range and is suddenly standing maybe a little too close, but Q doesn't complain, just lets M move his hands and fix his posture, steadying his arm, telling him to breathe slowly, deep.

He's not sure how he manages to keep his aim straight, how he even manages to hit the target at all with M standing so close. It's getting late, and M's taken off his suit jacket and his tie, and Q likes him like this. Loose and relaxed like he doesn't have the British intelligence to run.

When Q shoots, he hits near the centre of the target and is elated. M murmurs, "Well done," in his ear, lets his hand linger on Q's shoulder for a second too long, and then he's gone.

Q shakes and drops the gun, but once he's stilled himself, he picks it up, breathes deep, and hits the target again and again.

 

* * *

 

Eve starts shooting them both stern looks, which they both ignore, because it's starting to get ridiculous. They try and school their faces into blank expressions, but Q's just awful at it, and even though M is much better, there just seems to be something about Q that cracks his shields wide open.

They ignore everything that leaps and sparks in the air between them until they can't.

 

* * *

 

It's late and almost everyone has gone home, but Q's still fine-tuning a listening device when M comes down to Q branch. He's dressed more casually than during normal work hours, sleeves rolled up and his jacket and even his tie gone, like that day at the firing range.

"How's it going?" M asks, and his voice is neutral, but when he looks at Q he can't hide the longing and the want, and Q's been thinking about this for a long time, and he finally makes his decision.

"It's going well, I'm almost finished," Q replies, and he gets up and walks to one corner of the room, motioning for M to follow him, who complies bemusedly. Q points to the nearest camera that's rotating slowly. "That's the only camera that ever catches this exact spot." And when it starts to turn away from where they're standing, Q loops his fingers into M's suspenders before he can lose his nerve and pulls him in for a kiss.

It only takes a second for M to crack, to give in and pull Q even closer, but the camera will only point away from them for so long. Q's fingers are still hooked in M's suspenders and he slides them down the elastic to his waistband, a tease, before letting go and walking back to his workstation. His hands are shaking; this was a risk, and if he was wrong to take it--

But then M's hand is on his back, possessive, and he's leaning down to murmur in Q's ear. "When you're done here, come to my office."

 

* * *

 

The long work hours that they both keep means that Q becomes very well acquainted with the big mahogany desk in M's office, but he doesn't really mind being on his back, spread out across it, all the papers swept onto the floor, or being bent over it. Or straddling M in his chair, rocking against him, pace growing more frantic by the second and muffling desperate noises in M's neck. They're far enough gone not to care that their relationship is against the rules, let alone what they're doing in his office, but they know that being caught could end it all.

It's when they finally make it to a bed that they can take their time. Q strips M's suit off piece by piece, discarding the clothing carelessly, doing away with the armour. Most everyone knows M's real name, but it's only Q that gets to see him like this.

M learns the curve of Q's neck, the panes of his body. What touches will evoke what noises from that beautiful mouth, how long he can tease him for before Q loses it and _begs_.

He's one of three people in the entire world that knows Q's real name, and when he says it, it sounds like _I love you_.

 

* * *

 

Eve knows, of course. She always knows, and she smiles at Q the next time he comes by M's office, pleased and a little bit smug. They make sure to keep their meetings at the office late when everyone else has gone home, and the door is always carefully locked. Eve knows, but she'll keep their secret.

However, it's inevitable that Bond will find out, and he's always had impeccable timing.

Q is actually only there to get approval for a new prototype, a completely legitimate reason for seeing M. And if M pins him against the door before he leaves to give him a long kiss, wet and dirty, a promise of what's to come later, well, that's just a bonus. So what if they have absolutely no restraint when they're around each other and they're acting like teenagers who steal kisses during their lunch break when the teachers aren't looking?

But it's just Q's luck that Bond is coming in just as Q is coming out, and damn those double-oh agents. Bond pauses, looks him up and down, taking in the way his hair is even messier than normal and the unusual redness of his lips. Q braces himself for some sort of smart remark or an awful innuendo, but it never comes. Instead, Bond just nods, and looks almost -- impressed.

"My god," Q complains to Eve, who watches the short exchange and is now straight out laughing at Q. "That man is unbelievable."

 

* * *

 

There are cameras installed in every nook and cranny of MI6, for security purposes, of course. Everywhere except M's office. Q takes those ones out himself. They've done a lot of very incriminating things in that office, and they can't risk getting caught. Q has his own cameras in there, the ones he invented himself, practically undetectable, and he's the only one who gets to see that footage.

When there's a security breach at MI6, Q knows that it's not his fault that time, but that's all he knows. They start running searches to try and find out what's going on, and Q takes a moment when nobody is looking to pull up the cameras in M's office. He's there, talking furiously into the phone, and he glances towards the camera like he knows Q is watching.

M knows that Q will be checking up on him, and M wants to do the same, but he has his responsibilities. He can't run down to Q branch and see if the quartermaster is safe, as desperate as he is to. He's known logically since it all started that Q might not always be able to come first, they both know it, and M should be prepared, but it's taken him by surprise, just like Q's taken him by surprise.

Q is home, the safe place after the fight, where M can let everything go, and M never expected it to be this way. Q is home, and when home is compromised, nothing feels safe.

Bond comes in and tells him that there's someone in HQ, that's what the security breach is, and that he's being tracked right now. That Q is tracking him, and this is Bond's way of telling him that Q is all right.

"Make sure you get him," M says, and Bond doesn't miss the unspoken _thank you_ in his eyes.

Later, Q says that he was never in any danger, and M knows he's right, but that doesn't stop him from holding Q close all night, needing him in his arms to make sure he's safe, to make sure that he's home.

 

* * *

 

Q sprawls on top of M, naked and loose-limbed, sheets kicked aside, M's hand trailing up and down his spine. He traces the shape of M's mouth and says, "I love you."

M smiles and whispers Q's name against his fingertips.


End file.
